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Wall Street Journal
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
‘Dinner With King Tut' Review: The Taste of Ancient Egypt
The science writer Sam Kean's all-in approach to research is evident not only from the ink on the pages of his books but from the ink on his skin. In 'Dinner With King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists Are Re-creating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations,' Mr. Kean spends time with various specialists devoted to understanding the lives of our distant ancestors. In the course of his travels, he makes stone tools, tans leather, mummifies a fish and renders seal blubber into oil. The depth of the writer's commitment is tested when he meets with a Southern Californian tattooist proficient in ancient methods of body art. While he is, in his own words, 'not a tattoo guy,' the author feels obligated to submit to the artist's needle, settling on a small asterisk on his thigh. 'Given how universal tattooing was in prehistory, I realized I'd always have a gap in my understanding of life unless I sucked it up and got a hand-poked tattoo myself,' he writes, referring to the manual method some experts believe was used to ink Ötzi, a 5,300-year-old mummy discovered in the Alps. Traditional archaeology holds little appeal for Mr. Kean. He recalls time spent at archaeological digs, where he observed practitioners meticulously sifting through dirt, as 'such a letdown, the most godawful tedium I could imagine.' He's instead drawn to the burgeoning subfield of experimental archaeology (also known as experiential or living archaeology), whose adherents attempt to accurately replicate elements of ancient people's lives. Each chapter of this lively book covers a specific time and place, beginning 75,000 years ago on the African savanna and concluding with 16th-century Mexico. Stops along the way include ancient Egypt, Imperial Rome, Viking Europe and medieval China. Each chapter presents an overview of life during the period and introduces the experimental archaeologists Mr. Kean meets in his travels. (Some, it should be said, aren't technically archaeologists but are, in the author's fond description, 'screwball enthusiasts.')
Telegraph
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Sex Pistols tattooist's death triggers inheritance row over ‘secret' daughter
Cockell, who was originally from Worcester, rose to prominence in the 1980s tattooing musicians such as Jones and members of Stray Cats and Bananarama at his London studios in Finchley Road and later Soho's Diamond Jack's. As his tattoo career came to an end, he took on another role as an 'odd-job man at Buckingham Palace' and was paid £14,500 a year for his efforts towards the upkeep of the Royal estate, a court heard. He married his wife in 1982 and they lived in a £900,000 house in Mill Hill, north London. His wife was unaware of his child from a previous relationship, Cindylee Cockell, who filed a claim for 'reasonable provision' from his estate after his death. 'Overwhelming grief' Giving evidence via a videolink from Sydney, Cindylee Cockell claimed she needed a payout because the 'overwhelming grief' of her father's death had left her so depressed and anxious she was unable to work. She told the judge that she had been two years old when she learned that Cockell was her father. She said she had visited him in London four times before his death and claimed he promised her a £23,000-a-year receptionist job in one of his tattoo parlours. The court heard she was now on 'Australian Jobseekers Allowance' having been signed off by her doctor as incapable of working for 'years' due to severe 'anxiety and depression' following the death of her father, and her mother a few months later. She told the court: 'The death of my father and mother had a devastating effect on my day to day life. 'I have anxiety and depression which have been exacerbated by overwhelming grief.' 'Never been financially dependent' Cockell's widow is fighting the claim and says she could be forced to sell her home if she is ordered to make the payout her late husband's daughter wants. Her barrister Nicholas Michael denied that Cindylee Cockell was incapable of work and insisted the estate owes her nothing. He said: 'Cindylee was estranged from the deceased until she was eight. 'After that she only met him on a few sporadic occasions and she has never been financially dependent on the deceased.' He called for the claim to be dismissed. Judge Deputy Master Timothy Bowles is expected to reserve his decision in the case until a later date.
